Road Trip
by drwhofangirl591
Summary: MY OWN interpretation of how Emma and Mr. Gold's journey to find Bae begins. Beware of my sorry attempt at writing humor! Don' forget to review!


Emma trudged irritably down the stairs to the kitchen shouldering her travel bag, Mr. Gold's threat still ringing in her ears. She had no clue how long this little excursion of his was going to take but she hoped no longer than a week. Glancing around the kitchen she noticed that Mr. Gold was rigidly sitting in one of the kitchen chairs with a slight air of impatience about him as he drummed his fingers against the handle of his cane. Snow and Charming stood behind the island sipping their coffee shooting increasingly more suspicious looks at the man who had threatened to kill them less than an hour ago. Emma's presence roused them all from the awkward silence that had befallen the room after she had left to pack. Gold had not told them much about the trip, only that it was to find his son and that it would take several days; and that he needed Emma's knowledge of the outside world to do it.

"Where's Henry?" Emma questioned, eyeing Mr. Gold as she spoke. She had not let it go unnoticed that Gold had poignantly glared at her son while making his threat.

"Right here." Henry came bounding out from behind the stairs dressed in his school uniform. "I was just getting my things. Emma why can't I come with you guys? Maybe I could help." He begged looking from Emma to Mr. Gold. "Please."

The kid was a good like showman, but Emma was completely set against his involvement in this precarious situation. "Sorry, kid but I think it'd be best that you stay here with David and Mary Margret. You'll be safer." She caught Gold smirking at her last statement. "Besides you have school." Emma glanced up at the clock. "Which you're going to be late for if you don't get a move on."

"Your mother is right Henry." Mr. Gold stood from his chair and made his way over to the boy. His mood had significantly brightened since his unexpected arrival.

"Miss Swan and I have a long trip ahead of us and we wouldn't want you neglecting your education for my sake." Emma studied Gold as he patted Henry on the shoulder. Even though he had threatened her son, Gold seemed to have a soft spot for Henry. "Speaking of time Miss Swan, I think it's time we made our departure as well."

He turned to the door, gesturing for them to leave.

Emma nodded. "Just let me grab my keys..."

"That, won't be necessary Miss Swan." Emma threw Gold a puzzled look. "We'll be taking my car."

"Your car? What's wrong with my car?" Gold gave her a polite smile, "No offense Miss Swan but your car has seen a bit of mileage and I'd rather be in a vehicle that I'm comfortable with, seeing as I will be the one driving." With that he made his out the door leaving the rest of the family somewhat dumbfounded. Everyone in town knew how particular Gold was about his possessions especially his car. The fact that he was willing to take his own car on such a long trip _and_ voluntarily drive was just plain shocking.

"Well I guess this is it." Emma sighed. Before she made her way out the door Snow and Charming rushed over to pull her into a tight hug. Tears streamed down Snow's cheeks as she bid her daughter farewell. Her over-dramatic reaction made Emma believe her mother thought she wasn't going to come back in one piece. "Please be careful Emma, you don't know what Gold is capable of or how this trip will affect him."

Emma nodded, "I can handle Gold. I just don't know if the rest of world can."

Once down on the street Emma and Henry said their goodbyes. "Are you sure I can't go with you guys? I could keep you company! Keep you guys from getting bored!"

"Nice try Henry but this is something I have to do alone. I'm sure we will have plenty of things to discuss on the way." She was lying to herself more than trying to comfort Henry. With a final hug Henry jogged to the bus stop still a tiny bit miffed that he wasn't invited. Mr. Gold was standing next to his black Cadillac watching the exchange. A sad smile flickered across his tightly pressed lips. Emma now turned her attention to her unenthusiastic traveling companion. She had a feeling that riding in a car with this man would not be the highlight of her trip. "Careful Gold, don't let the excitement get to you."

"You may place your bag in here." Gold stepped to the rear of the car and gestured to the open trunk. Standing beside it, Gold reminded Emma of a 1920's gangster as he leaned heavily against his cane. What had she gotten herself into?

"You know, you could fit a whole person in here!" Emma teased.

"Why do you think I bought it, dearie?" He grinned mischievously. Pretending not to be as creeped out by that thought as she actually was, Emma decided to move the conversation along. Examining the trunk she noticed Gold's luggage. There wasn't much, just a small carry-on and a medium sized case with ancient looking buckles along its front. For a man who wears nothing but suits he sure packed light. "What, no giant garment bag full of suits? Did you even pack any other clothes?"

His grin quickly vanished as he walked around to the driver's side. Looking at her matter-of-factly, "I should probably inform you, Miss Swan that I don't intend on making any overnight stops. I want this trip over as quickly as you do." Emma was taken aback as she hopped into the passenger seat. "So what, your plan is to drive straight through to wherever you're dragging me? You still haven't told me where that is by the way?"

Ignoring her questions Gold started the car and turned on to the main road that headed for the town line. It took several drawn out minutes to get to the edge of the town and during that time neither had spoken. If this was any indication of how the rest of the trip was going to go, Emma thought she might beat her head against the dash before it was over. Just as they approached the "Leaving Storybrooke" sign, Gold stopped the car. Reaching behind the front seat he pulled out the old shawl which he had enchanted. Emma watched as he reverently draped it around his shoulders. Taking a deep breath and staring Emma squarely in the eye he finally spoke.

"Alright Miss Swan, here are the rules: no talking, no music, no pit stops except for fuel. Got it? Oh and try to have fun." He added the last bit just to annoy her.

"I knew I should've brought a book." She answered sarcastically. "Seriously we're gonna have to talk. I thought I was now the navigator. I can't tell you where to go if I'm not allowed to talk."

"I already know the directions, I memorized them." He growled through clenched teeth. "Your job is to see that I get there and back safely and to deal with the people on the outside. Do you think you can handle that?" He really did have an answer to everything. They sat locked in a staring match for several seconds before Emma responded. "Ok but then I've got some rules for you. One- no magic, two- no pummeling anyone with your cane, and three- I do all the talking."

"Fair enough." Shifting the car into drive, they crossed the town line. A blue haze washed over Mr. Gold as they broke the barrier. Emma watched him for any sign of amnesia. "Mr. Gold?" Without taking his eyes off the road, "What did I say about talking, Miss Swan?" Frustrated Emma threw up her hands, "I was just making sure you were still you. The last thing we need is for you to turn into something remotely interesting." Gold kept his gaze focused on the road but a hint of amusement crossed his face.

Eternity. An eternity is how long Emma felt had passed while riding in complete silence. In reality it had only been a little over an hour. An hour and not a word, not even a pit stop. Mr. Gold was a complete wall of stillness. Not so much as a sniffle had escaped him. Emma thought about trying to get some sleep but sleep wouldn't come. Another twenty minutes passed and Emma had taken to adding up the numbers of all the exit signs they passed. So far the running total was 357. Suddenly the soft clicking of the turn signal caught her attention. Could it be? Were they stopping? They were! Never had Emma been so happy to see a gas station. As they pulled up to one of the pumps Emma was nearly out of the car before it was put into park. Before getting out of the car Mr. Gold broke his icy silence, "You've got ten minutes." His voice cracked slightly from lacked of speaking, Emma couldn't help but be amused by this. "Oh come on, that's hardly enough time to stretch my legs," she complained. He shot her a dangerous look. "Do you really want to start an argument over whose leg is in more pain?" Emma avoided him by turned and headed into the store.

Ten minutes later Mr. Gold was standing beside the car checking his pocket watch waiting for Emma to return. When he saw her exit the convenience store he noticed that she was carrying a grocery bag and a couple of coffee cups. He rolled his eyes at her as she climbed back into her seat with her bag of goodies. "Miss Swan-" He began sternly as he slid into his.

"You _can_ call me "Emma" you know. We've known each other for how long now, I think we can drop the formalities." Gold looked slightly taken aback by her frankness. "I'll stick with "Miss Swan" if it's all the same to you." he stated with a sneer.

"Suit yourself but you should be a little bit nicer to me from now on- I bought you coffee." She dangled the Styrofoam cup in front of him.

"That's very kind of you-" Again his words were cut short as Emma yanked the cup just out of his reach. Gold chuckled sinisterly, "Oh ho ho! I see." The corner of his mouth curled into a roguish smirk. "Are you sure you want to play this game?" Emma's face mirrored his own smug expression. "Name your price dearie." She wavered slightly when his usually deep voice momentarily took on an unusually higher pitch.

Emma started at Mr. Gold. "Let me listen to the radio."

"Out of the question." He responded with wave of his hand.

"Then lose the no talking rule." Gold pondered her offer. It was just coffee after all, what was the harm in a bit of light conversation. "Very well, Emma." His voice dripped with sarcasm as he said her name.

"Now was that so difficult uh- you know I never did catch your first name."

"And you probably never will dearie, so why not call me what everyone else does? Rumplestiltskin." An impish grin spread across his face.

Emma paused. "You're right, Miss Swan is just fine." Emma sank back into her seat and sipped her coffee.

"I thought you might say that." Mr. Gold mumbled as they resumed their drive.

"So when are you going to fill me on the plan?" Emma asked between bites of the sandwich she'd bought back at the gas station. The entire time she had been eating Mr. Gold had been constantly watching her in his peripherals. He cringed every time crumbs fell on to the seat. He was vehemently regretting not outlawing food in his car.

"We are going to New York." He said after a long pause.

"New York. That's where your son is? How did you find him?"

"Yes I believe Bae is there. And how I found out is none of your concern." His face became hard as he spoke. Emma decided not to push him further on the matter. Instead she held up a bag of potato chips and offered him one. Gold warily eyed the bag but did not take one.

"Come on Gold you must be hungry. I bet you haven't eaten since we left Storybrooke." Again he eyed the bag. "It's just a chip; I promise it won't hurt you."

Resignedly he sighed and began to reach for the bag but his hand halted above it, "No terms this time Miss Swan?" Emma gave him a hurt look. "I'm not going to exploit you for some chips; no when I want something it will be for more than snack food."

Gold realized she had used his own phrasing against him. Turning on his charm he mustered his most flirtatious voice and replied, "I do believe I'm rubbing off on you Miss Swan."

"Ugh! That worries me." Emma scoffed as Gold laughed. Yes, he actually laughed. Emma was so shocked she wasn't sure if she should laugh too or be concerned. The silence soon resumed but at least the earlier tension had dissipated. As Emma watched out the window she noticed an increase in the traffic around them and wondered if she should offer to drive for a while. Before she could do just that, her cell phone began to ring. It was Mary Margret.

"Hey, what's up?" Emma answered.

"Emma!" Snow shouted. "Hi, it's so good to hear your voice! I was just calling to, ya' know, check in. Is it safe to talk? I'm not getting you in trouble am I?" Her mother's voice wavered between relief and fear. Emma kept her attention focused on Gold, making sure it was indeed safe to talk. He was now sitting much straighter and a deep furrow appeared in his brow.

"Uh yeah I'm fine, we're both fine. Sure, I can talk just try to make it quick." Snow continued, "I don't want to intrude, I just needed to assure myself that you were safe and that you didn't have any trouble leaving town. So have you figured out where he's taking you?"

Emma felt certain that Gold knew what kind of questions Snow was asking but she didn't want to betray his confidence. "I know where we're headed but I can't really explain it over the phone." She saw Gold physically relax and knew she had done the right thing. "Yes I know. I will. I won't let him. Tell Henry hi for me? Miss you too. Alright bye... Love you too Mom." Her last words came out sounding forced and uncomfortable as she hung up.

"Thank you Miss Swan." Mr. Gold mumbled.

"No problem." She responded distractedly. Emma sat staring at her phone awkwardly.

"Must be strange calling the woman you shared an apartment with for months, who's no older than yourself, 'mom'."

"You've no idea." Emma sank down in her seat.

"I can only imagine what being called 'grandpa' is doing to Charming's ego." Gold smirked; he looked more than a little pleased with the idea. As if seeing someone as young and attractive as Prince Charming being called old somehow made him feel better about himself.

"Uh hey do you want to drive for a while, I could use the distraction. New York is still a ways off."

"We're almost there." He answered nonchalantly.

"Wait, what?" Emma froze. "Oh no! No! Did you use magic? What did I say about using magic?" She was freaking out. She thought she was observant enough to realize if something magical happened. She frantically thought back over the past few hours. She didn't recall anything out of the ordinary happening. "What's going on Gold?" Emma demanded.

Gold chuckled to himself. "Obviously you haven't been paying attention to the signs dearie." As the next sign came into view Emma pressed herself against the window. "Try not to smudge the glass will you." Gold commented irritably. It was true she hadn't been paying any attention. The sign read: AIRPORT EXIT NEXT 2 MILES.

She turned back around confused. "The airport?"

Mr. Gold stared back at her with an expression of mock surprise. "Oh, did I not mention that we were flying the rest of the way?"

Emma crossed her arms angrily. "No, you didn't!" She remained silent for the last few minutes of the drive. It was not until after the car was parked and they were retrieving their bags from the trunk that Emma spoke. "It just would have been nice to know before we left town. What if I'd needed a passport?"

Gold came around to the trunk and opened his small carry-on. "Not a problem." He produced two passports as if by magic. Emma raised a questioning eyebrow. "I had them made weeks ago."

Emma shook her head. "How the hell did -You know what I don't want to know. Let's just go." Grabbing her bag she made her way toward the terminal entrance. Mr. Gold finished locking up his car and followed after her. At this point all that Gold could think about was his son. His search for Bae was coming to an end. In a few hours they'd be in New York and he would find out if all his troubles had paid off. As for Emma, the only thought running through her mind was 'God I hope he behaves himself on the plane."

End.


End file.
